


Ambitious

by rhodrymavelyne



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:48:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29519007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhodrymavelyne/pseuds/rhodrymavelyne
Summary: Sometimes how small Hannibal is in the scheme of things only makes him feel ambitious. Will Graham is the inspiration and the antidote to this sensation.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Kudos: 7





	Ambitious

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after the series ended. I don’t own Hannibal but for months it has owned me.

I stood above the great hall, dizzy at seeing the art, the sculptures, the iron maiden in all its cruelty. I swayed, ready to topple over the balcony as I’d taken a dive over a cliff. 

This time he was ready for me. This time he kept a firm grasp on my shoulder, holding onto me, keeping me close. Refusing to let me fall. “Behold the works of man. Anything I’ve accomplished pales next to the grandeur and terror of history.”

“Does it make you feel small?” My words come out more provocative than I’d intended. “Or ambitious?” 

He chuckled at my words, gazing at me in loving tenderness. “Ambition is kindled from feeling small, Will.” 

I wondered at this. Too often I’ve felt small, at the mercy of forces vaster than myself or anything I could accomplish. It didn’t make me feel ambitious. It made me hold onto anything I could, try to control, to clutch for balance what I could.

“Have you ever truly felt small?” Hannibal Lecter seemed to stand head and shoulder above other men and other monsters in accomplishment. His shadow eclipsed everything else, spreading out its horn, shaking its cloven hoof.

“Less and less since I met you.” He kept his firm grip upon me. “Whenever I start to feel eclipsed by the deeds of others, I look at you. I think of you.” He leaned close enough to kiss my cheek, letting the nearness of his lips make my flesh tingle. “Your fear, your awareness, the way you see me is unique. I must live up to your expectations, yet what I see reflected in your eyes gives me the conviction that I can.”

“I have made you more of a monster, just as you have made me,” I murmured, closing my eyes. I must not accept this. If I accept this, it will loosen the chains I’ve put upon my own monstrous nature. 

“We have made each other more than we once we.” He tightens his grip upon me. “Don’t be ashamed of this. Don’t turn away.”

I should, but I don’t. I turn towards him instead, study his face. It is as tender and compassionate as I’ve ever seen Hannibal.

Maybe I should focus upon this instead of the monster. Maybe this would contain his ambition, keep it from growing to monstrous proportions. Only I can’t lose sight of what Hannibal Lecter is. I owe it to Abigail, to Beverly, to Alana, to Georgia, to Jack, to Molly, to Wally, to everyone I’ve ever cared to keep his true face firmly in my mind. I can’t look away from it. 

Not anymore.


End file.
